The sun will set on 2014 in just a few hours, and we are just in time with our annual top 10 list of the most-watched Gear Live video episodes. Over the past year, as expected, there was a bunch of Apple gear that made the list, with the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The launch of the WWE Network was also groundbreaking, and our walkthrough proved to be the second most popular video of the year. Other items, like a tutorial on upgrading Xbox One controllers, a look at the Fitbit Force, and a how-to on installing the Nest Protect also proved popular as well.

Oh, and if you wanna be sure to get our new video episodes as they come out in 2015, be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube, in iTunes, or in your RSS reader!

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This is an entry from our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide. Check it out for suggestions on what to buy your loved, liked, and hated ones this holiday season!

The next item in Gear Live’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide is the Kindle Paperwhite. Why? well, as great as e-ink readers have been (and they've been pretty stellar,) since the original Amazon Kindle was released, their one tragic flaw has been that they become pretty useless in the dark. You either simply can't read them, or have to use a small light attachment accessory. Enter the Kindle Paperwhite. Amazon has designed what we consider to be the best e-ink reader to hit the market. It's flagship feature is the front-lit display, which works great when you're in the dark and want to read your latest ebook purchase without using a backlit tablet that's hard on the eyes, or an awkward clip-on light accessory. It also supports new features like telling you how much reading time you have before you finish your current chapter, and an all-touch display with virtually no lag. Check out our Kindle Paperwhite review, unboxing gallery, and video after the break for more, and head on over to Amazon to pick up the Kindle Paperwhite for $119 for that bookworm in your life.

Apple has released iOS 8.1, and with it comes a slew of new features for users of iOS devices. The biggest addition is Apple Pay, which works with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3. Apple Pay allows you to securly store your credit cards in Passbook, and pay for items wirelessly and quickly in stores with your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, and online in apps with any of the supported devices. Apple Pay isn't all that's included in iOS 8.1, though. The return of the Camera Roll and My Photo Stream libraries in the Photos app when not using iCloud Photo Library is featured, as is the new iCloud Photo Library Beta, which allows you to store your entire photo library in iCloud. iOS 8.1 also unlocks the ability to have your SMS and MMS text messages appear on your iPad and Mac, using your iPhone as a conduit. We've got a full list of all the changes that come with iOS 8.1 for you, after the break.

During this morning’s Apple iPad Event, the company announced that its game-changing mobile payment service, Apple Pay, will launch on Monday, October 20th. Since being announced during last month’s iPhone event, Apple has signed up an additional 500 banks and financial institutions as well as a multitude of additional retail stores. The service will work with VISA, MAsterCard, and American Express at the start. Apple Pay is compatible with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and will be enabled by the iOS 8.1 update. The service takes advantage of Touch ID and NFC to make mobile payments both secure and and quick.

About a month ago, Apple took the stage at the Flint Center to unveil the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Later this week, the company will hold another special event, then time to reveal this years iPad lineup, and if reports are correct, updated iMacs (including one with a Retina display.) We’ve heard conflicting reports as to whether the iPad mini will see an update at the event, or if that’ll come early next year, but we do know that the iPad Air will get an update that will make it lighter, slimmer, and more powerful.

Vietnamese leak site Tinhte.vn has already showed what’s purported to be the iPad Air 2 frame, which is thinner and sees the volume buttons recessed into the frame, and the inclusion of a Touch ID sensor, bringing the iPhone feature over to the Apple tablet family.

Meanwhile, fans of Apple’s desktop hardware have been waiting for a couple of years for the Retina display technology to make the jump from iOS devices and Apple notebooks over to the iMac. It appears that a 27-inch model that sports a 5K resolution may be prepped for Thursday as well, alongside a possible Mac mini refresh. OS X Yosemite may also launch on Thursday, as Apple has released three Golden Master candidates to developers so far.

We’ll have all the news here on Gear Live as it happens, and Apple will also have a live stream of the event as well.

Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups

Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari

In addition to the quick update, the company also issued an apology to the 40,000 iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were affected by the bug for the past day or so, saying "iOS 8.0.2 is now available for users, it fixes an issue that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who downloaded iOS 8.0.1, and includes improvements and bug fixes originally in iOS 8.0.1. We apologize for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were impacted by the bug in iOS 8.0.1."

We've downloaded the new update here on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units, and everything is looking fine. The iOS 8.0.2 update is available now over the air, or through direct iTunes connection. Be sure to check out our full iOS 8 review.

We just reported that Apple has released iOS 8.0.1, an update to the massive iOS 8 upgrade that arrived one week ago (see our iOS 8 review.) The update brings a handful of bug fixes and improvements, but has also introduced two new issues for those with an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. After installing iOS 8.0.1, owners of the newest Apple smartphones are reporting that they can no longer connect to the cell provider, and that Touch ID fingerprint recognition no longer works. These are both fairly huge issues that you'd think would have been caught immediately before releasing iOS 8.0.1 into the wild, but that's neither here nor there. At this point, we recommend that everyone hold off on upgrading to iOS 8.0.1 while Apple gets this figured out.

Apple has released iOS 8.0.1 (build 12A366,) bringing with it a bunch of bug fixes and improvements to the new operating system that was released a week ago. The big change is that 8.0.1 brings a fix that enables HealthKit integration, so we can expect to see apps start integrating data into the Health app shortly. Third-party keyboards have been made more reliable, as has the Reachability feature found on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Here’s the full rundown:

Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store

Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode

Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library

Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

If you were curious just how well Apple would do with selling larger iPhones, it turns out that the answer is, better than ever. The company has announced that it sold over 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones in the first weekend of sales. This would include the previously announced 4 million pre-orders of the device that were sold in the first 24 hours of availability. This makes it the best-selling smartphone launch of all time, beating the record of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c last year, which sold 9 million units in the first weekend. Also impressive?? Last year the iPhone 5s launched on day one in China, while this year China isn't included in the sales figures due to a delayed launch.

Due to the massive demand, it may be tough finding an iPhone 6 Plus, as supply of this model is constrained, with the Apple Store showing a 3-4 week backorder on the 5.5-inch device.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, shared this statement:

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible.”

iOS 8 was released today, and it's a great update to Apple's mobile devices (see our iOS 8 review.) In addition, many developers have started to release custom keyboards, a new capability found in the updated OS. Users can now leave the stock keyboard behind for something more customized. Here are some of the best third-party iOS 8 keyboards that you can add to your devices right now!